John Moore

Oracle Corp.’s newest plans for a channel foray and accompanying mid-market push have observers wondering whether the software giant will truly overcome its spotty past with partners. Oracle last week disclosed arrangements with Avnet Inc., Ingram Micro Inc. and Tech Data Corp. that are intended to cultivate a small and midsize business channel. Such partnerships […]

The recently announced recompetition for General Motors Corp.’s outsourcing business has put $15 billion in contracts into play. That’s the word from Bob Swan, executive vice president of Electronic Data Systems Corp., the company with the most at stake in the GM deal-making. EDS won about two thirds of GM’s outsourcing spend—a chunk worth about […]

The idea of building an Internet data center would have been considered lunacy a couple of years ago. The industry had overbuilt significantly during the dot-com boom, and service providers would have been hard-pressed to give them away. Hosting ceased to be hot. Collocation was considered toast. Even now, some observers view U.S. outsourcers’ data […]

Pharmaceutical companies may become more active in outsourcing as they look to trim expenses. That’s the view of outsourcing consultants who follow the field. Vicki Tauscher, a vice president with EquaTerra, said she has seen increasing interest in outsourcing from pharmaceutical companies that aim to increase returns to shareholders and drive costs down. “For the […]

Corporations want their information technology shops to be run like businesses. A newly released report, however, suggests that many organizations are stumbling in that regard. Sapient, a systems integrator, collaborated with Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management on a white paper that examines the problem of unlocking technology’s potential. “Most [organizations] are missing out on […]

Banks are emerging as an upgrade hot spot for systems integrators and outsourcing vendors. A survey commissioned by Accenture Inc. and SAP AG indicates that banks around the globe are planning to upgrade aging core banking systems. Three quarters of the bank executives polled cited lack of flexibility as the biggest problem affecting banking systems, […]

OpenMFG plans to beef up its channel roster as it plies its hybrid open-source model in the enterprise resource planning market. The Norfolk, Va. company targets small and midsize businesses, with a particular emphasis on manufacturing firms. Ned Lilly, OpenMFG LLC’s president and chief executive officer, said he estimates that there are 300,000 manufacturers in […]

Affiliated Computer Services Inc. on Monday disclosed a $100.5 million outsourcing contract with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. The five-year deal will focus on information technology outsourcing as opposed to the business process outsourcing projects for which ACS is perhaps better known. ACS will manage more than 5,000 Unix, Windows/Intel, OS390 mainframe and Open VMS servers housed […]

Headlines over the past few days trumpeted the news that the number of people receiving unemployment benefits has hit a four-year low. The number of displaced workers receiving benefits averaged 2.58 million during the four-week period ending the week of August 15—the lowest average since March 2001, according to Department of Labor numbers. Is this […]

Industry watchers harbored great expectations for 2005 as the year in which integrators would see growth in the RFID business. While opportunity exists, integrators and resellers will have to take care in pursuing customers. A CompTIA report released this week indicates that companies across a wide range of industries are adopting radio frequency identification. But […]

Time was, the data center represented a point of pride and a symbol of strength for traditional U.S.-based outsourcers. Its power and scope was an indication of the company’s own prowess. Some took presentation of the data center to theatrical heights: visitors would recline in a viewing area and a curtain would part to reveal […]

EDS Helps Affinia Go Global Electronic Data Systems Corp. has been pulled into the midst of a restructuring program at Affinia Group Inc., which makes and distributes auto parts for the aftermarket. On Monday, EDS said it will manage much of the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company’s information technology infrastructure. The 7-year deal spans Affinia Group’s […]